Sociological Linguistics

[JoatSimeon at aol.com]

>Patrick C. Ryan

>My own studies and common sense decree that, at some point after the onset
of >linguistic communication, languages were simpler than they are now; and
>hence, less explicitly expressive.

-- irrelevant to the present discussion, as all extant and historically
recorded languages, as well as those which can be reconstructed with any
degree of confidence (like PIE) are equally "expressive", ie., basically
equally efficient as means of communication.

Languages are more or less useful for communication according to their degree
of ubiquity or social status; which is to say, for non-linguistic reasons.

Eg., English is not spoken more widely than Serbian because it's in any way a
"better" language, but simply due to historical accident.